In the last decade, many have witnessed what may be considered the greatest wealth transfer in history, as Bitcoin, the very first Cryptocurrency, came on the scene in 2009. In its’ early stages, very few people knew anything about Bitcoin or how to get their hands on it.
Founded by an anonymous developer or group operating under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the anomaly was initially seen as a way to make anonymous peer-to-peer financial transactions, outside of the eyes of governments who may want to regulate or tax them.
Now, with 1000s’ of cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, the second most popular, and with hundreds of crypto exchanges, Bitcoin is widely accepted today as an alternative currency. Many even believe that it may one day put fiat to rest.
How much has bitcoin increased from the beginning?
From its’ inception, cryptocurrency has been a highly volatile and unregulated market widely ruled by speculation. From the time the first Bitcoin changed hands up to today, the asset has more than sky-rocketed, going from a low of $0.00099 to its’ current price at or around $65,000. A 100,000,000% increase in initial trade value!
Of course, Bitcoin has seen many crashes since becoming a globally known phenomenon, diving several times more than 50%, such as the most dreaded crash that occurred on Dec. 27, 2017. Despite its habit of massive corrections, it has continued to recover every time to make new high.
While many are hoping to become the next crypto millionaire, one individual investor made his claim to fame not by selling or holding bitcoin but starting and owning his own exchange.
How did Sam Bankman-Fried become youngest Crypto Billionaire?
They say, during the gold rush, sell shovels to the people. Well, that’s exactly what one of today’s most successful crypto investors did. In the dawn of the crypto rush, Sam Bankman-Fried, at just 24 years of age, founded FTX, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange. At the time, Bankman had yet to even purchase a single cryptocurrency.
Now, his wealth has amassed to over 22 billion dollars. The MIT graduate who spent his early life as a science geek and who allotted most of his free time reading Harry Potter and playing video games while boasting a vegan diet, is now one of the world’s most famous crypto successes. “My goal is to have an impact,” he says.
What is a Cryptocurrency Exchange?
Cryptocurrency exchanges are online platforms where traders go to exchange one cryptocurrency for another.
Exchanges are free to join and give individual traders the opportunity to directly exchange their cryptocurrencies. When a transaction is completed, exchanges typically receive a transaction fee which is usually less than 1% of the traded asset. FTX has a transaction fee of 0.02% and handles nearly 10% of U.S. cryptocurrency transactions, which today net roughly 1.1 billion dollars of risk-free revenue annually. Another popular exchange, Binance, reported between 800 million and 1 billion in 2020 revenue.
With a net-worth of over 22 billion dollars, Sam Bankman-Fried has gone on to join the list of successful self– made billionaires standing next to the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Sergey Brin. From never purchasing a single bitcoin to owning a large stake in it. The Bankman now sits at No. 32 on the Forbes 400 richest Americans.
There’s no age cap on wealth and for the young innovator with an idea to change the world, the sky is the limit.
This article is not sponsored by FTX. We are not FTX affiliates nor is this a promotional article for any of FTX's services.
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